Grade 3

Grade 3 was a really fun year for me so maybe that's why I have soooo many memories of what happened then.

We were Section 2, but I don’t remember our teacher’s name. Section 1 had Miss Ramos and Section 3 had Miss Botanes. My classmates in Section 2 include China Reyes, Popsie again, Gia Maramba (a San Lo migrant), Carla Fernandez, and I think Lala De los Reyes, Mimie de Ocampo, Elena Palarca and Nelia Gonzalez. Maybe Milen Batungbacal was in that class also. We also had Michelle Hizon (small girl, curly hair, always had an elaborate hairclip for her fountain, and Diana Gamboa, sister of Arnold, the artista. Some San Lo girls came over because they had sisters in Grade 4, the “experiment" batch, for the transfer to Herran. I know one of them was Sylvia Santos-Ocampo.

We had Mrs. Estaniel for sewing. This is the year she taught us to embroider, with basket weave and DMC thread. I LOVED those classes, and in this sense, I am NOT my mother’s daughter. I can still embroider to this day, and I have taught one of my daughters how (she also loves it!) We also made hooked rugs this year. Popsie’s was peach and mine was aqua. We were so surprised that Mrs. Estaniel came through with our unusual yarn color requests.

China and I always got to play together after school, because we would go straight to the Chat Peypoch Studio. Our mothers had a PX business together there. China, I know I promised you in Grade 3, that I would never tell anyone our secrets. Well guess what? I will never tell, because for once, I can’t remember what those secrets are anymore!

You did break one of my secrets in Grade 3, but I still love you anyway. One day, while playing at the studio, my mom discovered that I had….kuto! Que horror! She grabbed me and my sis and we ran across the street to Realistic Beauty Salon to have our hair CHOPPED OFF. I made you PROMISE China, not to tell anyone what happened, but… either you did, or Popsie figured it out the next day in school. Are your ears really red now, China? Good, cause I’m sitting here laughing my head off telling everyone my big Grade 3 secret. You escaped the kuto probably because you hair was already short, lucky you. But SOMEONE in that 3rd grade class gave me the kuto. Whoever you are, well.....I hope it’s gone by now!

It might not have been China’s fault really. It was hard to get anything past Popsie. It still is right, people on the velada committee? One day I wasn’t feeling so good so my mom put a bottle of Polymagma in my lunch box and told me to drink a teaspoon every few hours. I tried to be discreet, when I went out to my lunchbox (they were on a shelf outside the windows, remember?) But Popsie noticed and wanted to know why, and of course she checked out the bottle. I was hoping she would not know what Polymagma was for. Of course she did.

You all know by now that Popsie = Milky Way = Food. Well in Grade 3, she brought in this special sarap kind of brownie that we called “food from the gods.” I can't forget, cause I never tasted that ever before. Well, I haven’t stopped tasting it since.

Grade 3 was also when Martial Law got declared (September 21, 1972.) China’s mom and my mom were on their way to Hong Kong that very morning when they got turned back at the airport. Travel ban! Vina and I were so upset, because all our bilins would not get bought. Little did we know that should have been the least of our worries. I am not sure if this really happened anymore, but did they teach us to seek cover under our desks that year? I know my dad taught us to duck in the car. To get to school, we had to travel through parts of Manila where there could be gulo. He said that if he ever yelled “Duck,” we were to dive down under the seats and not come up until he said it was okay. We even practiced a few times. Vina and I would of course, say “quack, quack, quack” and giggle while we were down under, not realizing the direness of such a situation, if it happened.

Miss Ramos was our reading teacher. One day, we were reading a piece from our American textbook, and the piece happened to have a song called America. Of course, none of us knew the tune to it, except Gia Maramba, who had previously lived in the States. So Miss Ramos asked her to stand and sing, and I can still hear her voice:
My country ‘tis of thee
Sweet land of liberty
Of thee I sing...
Little did I know that one day that country would be my home.

At the end of the school year, we had our usual musical presentation in the auditorium. For once, it did not just involve my putting on a nice party dress as costume. Actually, I think I had three numbers to change for but one of my costumes, my favorite ever, was for Mr. Banjo (Look at that fine young man, Mr. Banjo...) China and I were in it together. We had to wear black pants, a black vest, a white shirt, a black top hat and a cane. Just a few years ago, I could still remember and sing the songs we sang for glee club that year. That was the last year I ever joined glee club, and probably the last time I ever voluntarily wanted to sing in public. No, I don't think I was bad, I could sing then. Just don't remember why I quit.

That summer, China's family and mine went to Baguio. My Zosa cousins came too. We stayed at an inn owned by the family of Rowena Alonzo, a year ahead of us. All I remember is that we had FUN.